Desktops, TVs Highlight Intros
By Doug Olenick -- TWICE, 10/10/2005
New York — Dell put forth a flurry of product introductions in support of its new XPS-centered corporate strategy, along with a new Dimension desktop and two new flat-panel televisions.
Dell's initial XPS lineup consists of three desktops — the XPS 600, XPS 400 and XPS200 — and the M170 notebook. Like all Dell computers, each model is configurable, but with a base configuration, prices will run from $1,099 to $2,699. The flagship XPS 600 is geared toward gamers featuring Intel Pentium D dual-core processors, two NVIDIA GeForce 7800 GTX 256MB x16 PCI graphics cards, up to 8GBs of 667MHz DDR memory, 1.5TB of storage and a 650-watt power supply, and the chassis is available in eight colors.
The XPS 400 offers a smaller chassis with a silver and white color scheme and can be configured with dual-core Pentium D processors or a Pentium 4 single-core processor. It can handle up to 4GB of DDR memory and up to 1TB of memory. Additional options include a TV tuner, 13-in-one media card reader and a NVIDIA GeForce 7800 GTX 256MB x16 PCI graphics cards.
The XPS 200 is a small form factor desktop, with a $1,149 starting price. It is 12 inches tall and 4 inches wide and is designed to fit neatly into any living room environment. Its feature set mirrors the XPS 400's.
The M170 is a desktop replacement notebook for the gamer market, sporting a 17W-inch display; a NVIDIA 256MB GeForce Go 7800 GTX Ultra graphics card; and Dell MediaDirect, which gives the user the ability to access multimedia content without booting up the entire computer. The M170 has a $2,699 starting price.
Dell also added one non-XPS desktop, the Dimension E510, which falls in the company's new Entertainment product category. The E510 is available with a variety of Pentium 4 processors, up to 4GB of DDR memory, 250GB of storage and any type of optical drive desired. Pricing starts at $749.
The company also expanded its HDTV selection with the addition of the 50W-inch W5001C plasma and the 32W-inch W320C LCD. The former is priced at $3,799 and the latter comes in at $1,799, said George, Dell's VP, U.S. consumer. Both models offer 1,366 by 768 resolution; 8,000:1 and 1,000:1 aspect ratios, respectively; and 480i, 480p, 720p and 1,080i resolutions.
George said the new unit's price points are part of Dell's disruptive pricing strategy that intends to severely undercut the competition in order to quickly build market share.
